Hi there,

I'm 20yo and 2 days ago, my finger stick test came out positive. I want to know how reliable it is.

In the past i had a false positive, but was confirmed as negative a few hours later. Is this a false positive or not?

Also, I will need a surgical operation very soon for some other stuff, do i have to tell the doctor if i'm positive?

Good morning: I can't test to the reliability of the test you took. However, if it was a false negative the first time, then I would bet it's a false negative the second. I would probably go ahead and get an HIV blood test (ELSIA) and be done with it. However, it would be most reliable if it was three months after your last unprotected sexual encounter (particularly if there was vaginal or anal penetration).

As for the ethics of relating your HIV status to the surgeon. Yeh, I don't think you can get around this. I've had two surgeries and, since I knew both surgeons personally, I felt I was duty-bound to tell. Besides, you need to tell them in the event something unexpected happens. They will they have your full medical history and he better able to treat you. chris

well i agree for the surgeon, i'm sure he's gonna keep it confidential.

for the test, let me explain things. this time i took it at a different clinic, so it ws a different nurse. the first time the nurse DID tell me not to worry, that false negative happen, but this time he didn't tell me that. he told me that there was a high possibility that i'm infected. my question is, are there different cases or is this a different way to deal with things? are they always able to tell if it's a false negative or this nurse is a bit 'more realistic' (or pessimistic even)?

cheers

Why would he tell you that without getting the results of the test!? You had a false positive that later turned out to be a negative result, right?

Explain this sentence: "...the first nurse DID tell me not to worry, that false negative (sic) happen but this time he didn't tell me that." Did you mean that 'false negatives" or "false positives happen" because in your first post to mentioned "false positive" and that when you were re-tested you had a negative test.

My opinion on the nurse is that he/she ought to be beat over the head with a 2x4. You never suggest to a patient that the result might be positive no matter what you think. You simply don't know the result of the test until the results are confirmed.

Would you share your encounter?

ALso, really, you need to share the results of the test (if they're positive) with the surgeon. You wouldn't keep the fact that you had a bleeding disorder from your surgeon especially when he was going to operate, right. Do the right thing...chris